Shoe



Nov. 22,1932. E, MATHEWS 1,888,862

SHOE

Filed Aug. 20. 1929 INVENTOR ATTORN EYS pose the sole may be slightly dampened, but

'EPATET FFlCE EDWID F. MATHEWS, 0F YISILAN'II, .MICfiIGAN AssIGNoR, BY MESNE ASSIGNMENTS, 3N3) DUN DEER SANDALS INC., 01? AUBURN, NEW YORK, A CORPORATION OF DELA SHOE Application filed August 20, 1929. Serial No. 387,203.

This invention relates to a method of making sandals, whereby a product of distinct artistic merit can be produced cheaply and eficiently without the use of lasts.

For the purpose of illustration, I show in I the accompanying drawing an illustrative example of a sandal made in accordance with my invention and various steps in the manufacture. In this drawing, Fig.1 is a side view of the finished product; Fig. 2 is a rear View of the same; Fig. 3 is a plan view of the sole in the course of manufacture; Fig. 4 is a section on line 4i4 of Fig. 3; Fig. 5 is a section of the same part shown in Fig. 4,but ina more advancedstate of manufacture, and Fig. 6is a detailed view of a portion of the interior of the shoe.

In making a sandal according to my invention, a piece of sole leather 10 is cut out approximately one-quarter of an inch larger on all sides than the finished sole.' This is channeled near the top as indicated at 12 in Fig. 4, leaving a top flange 14. The top flange 14 is now out into a series of segments 16, each one of which has two holes 18 passing through it. The segments 16 preferably have their sides slightly converging toward the outside, and are formed by the use of a cutter punch which at one operation cuts both sides of a segment and the two holes. It is obvious that the segments should be so proportioned that they will just surround the sole, but they may be slightly varied in size I if desired, and to attain this variation in size punches of difi'erent width may be employed.

The use of the punch is very simple as the lower edge of the sole below the flange 14: will serve as a cuttin table into which the punch can be driven without dulling its edge.

When the segments 16 have all been out,

they are bent up to an approximately vertical position as shown in Fig. 5. For this purin any event-these segments will be quite flex ible.- After the segments have been bent vertically, the greater portion of the remaining extension is cut away leaving the slight extension 20 asshown in Fig. 5 where the portion that has been cut away is shown in broken lines. This gives the appearance of a thin extension sole. A heel 22, which may be of rubber or leather, is then attached to the sole, preferably by gluing, as I desire to avoid the necessity of using any nails.

Instead of stitching the uppers to the soles, I find that by the use of the segments that have been described, the uppers can be readily laced on on the inside so that the line of seg ments on the outside is unbroken. The uppers comprise two main heel members 24 which includeankle straps 25 that are adapted to be connected together at the front as by a buckle 26. If desired, these members may be cut out as indicated at 28. The heel members 24 are provided with holes to register with the holes in the segments 16 and are laced directly to such segments, and preferably are laced together up the back,though if desired they may be sewed together at this point.

In a like manner, a toe member 30 is provided which has holes so that it may be laced to the front segments and may be cut out as indicated at 32, though the shape of this or the other upper members may be modified to give a desired appearance. The rearward extending part of toe portion 30 is formed into a loop 34 adapted to receive the ankle strap 25 of one of the heel portions 24. This loop is preferably tied into place and a number of different holes for the ties are provided so that the loop may be made of varying length. i

Two portions 36 are provided which cross over the ball of the foot and are laced to the segments 16. These portions are preferably connected by a buckle 38 so that an adjustment over the ball of the foot is obtained.

The shoe can be very readily assembled without the use of machinery. A single lacing 40 is used to go around the entire shoe which passes twice through each segment' whether such segment is connected with one of the upper members or not. The lacing preferably starts from the rear and goes around. the front and then back to the rear Where the ends may be used for connecting the two heel portions together and are tied tion should extend approximately to the edge of one of the segments so that the loops of the lacing on the inside of the shoe will cover the free edges of the uppers and prevent their roughening up on the inside. This arrangement is indicated in detail in Fig. 6.

It will be noted that by the arrangement shown there is an adjustment over the instep,

' an adjustment over the ball of the foot and the length of the vamp is also adjustable. These adjustments, together with the fact that the segments 16 are upstanding, do away with any necessity of using a last, so that a sandal may be produced very inexpensively. The lacing which surrounds the entire article adds to its artistic appearance ,and makes it very easy for the sandal to be repaired. If the soles wear out, the owner can buy another set of soles prepared with the proper seg ments and simply remove the lacings and lace on the new soles. Also by virtue of the three adjustments described, many types of feet can be fitted with a relatively small number of stock sizes. The manufacture is so simple that sandals of this type can readily be manufactured in the home or in school if the soles are first channeled out and if a proper punch for making the segments is provided. The shoe is not only of artistic appearance, but due to the fact that the upturned edge is thinner than the .sole and divided into separate segments, great flexibility is given both to the sole and to the connection between the sole and upper, while maintaining the benefits resulting from having acut edge around the sides of the sole. 7

While ll prefer to make the sole and segments integral, it is within the spirit of my invention to make the soles of one piece of leather and the segments about the edge of a second piece'of leather which is attached to the sole member as by cement. It may also be noted that round perforations 18 may be used, though I have found that a material saving in case of assembly results from making these perforations of a generally oval shape as shown with the smaller dimension slightly less than the width of the lacing. This prevents the lacingfrom twisting while it is being drawn through the perforations.

at I claim is:

1. A shoe comprising a sole having a series of relatively flexible segments about its marginal portion, perforations in said segments, a lacing following the contour of the sole in said perforations whereby the segments are held substantially upright, and perforated upper members attached to the sole by said lacing, said segments when substantially upright being substantially adjacent one another end to end around the entire marginal portion of said sole. I

- 2. A shoe comprising a sole having a series of relatively flexible segments about its marginal portion, perforations in said segments,

eeaeea a lacing following the contour of the sole in said perforations whereby the segments are held substantially upright, and perforated pp ments, ing. 7

3. A shoe comprising a sole having a series of upstanding segments about its marginal portion, two perforations in each such segment, perforated upper members with their lower edges inside of said segments, and a lacing running around the shoe through the perforations inthe segments and the upper members, with a loop of said lacing on the outside running between the two perforations in each segment.

4. A shoe as specified in claim 3 having upper members with edges substantially aligned with the segment edges so that said edges are held in place by an inside loop of the lacing.

5. The process of making shoes which comprises forming a sole with a series of upstanding substantially adjacent perforated segments about its entire marginal portion and attaching to such segments a plurality of parts adapted to serve as an upper, by means of a lacing running around the shoe adjacent the sole.

6. A shoe comprising a sole having a series of upstanding segments about its marginal portion, two perforations in each such segment, upper members with perforated faces against the faces of the segments so that the perforations register and a lacing running through the respective registered perforations joining the segments to the upper members.

7 A shoe comprising a sole having a series of upstanding substantially adjacentsegmentsabout its marginal portion, perforations in each of said segments, a plurality of separate upper members laced to the segments by one lacing, said upper members adapted to form the upper part of the shoe when laced.

8. A shoe as defined in claim 7 whereinthe lacing passes through certain of the segments without touching said upper members.

EDWARD F. MATWS.

and attached to the sole by said lacmembers positioned inside said seg- 

